Newsletter  No. 28                                                                  Oct. 27, 2015

Workshop and Seminar Sign-Ups
The Parade of Red Suits
252 days and Counting!
In This Issue
Workshop Presenter Sign-Ups and Suggestions.

The Parade of Red Suits
Click here to read past Newsletters 
Click here to visit our Committee Web Pages
Hello Kringles!

 
In my last newsletter I introduced information on signing up to be a Chairperson or volunteer. But I forgot to mention one important thing.  I, and many of our committee members, will be working as Santa for the next two months.  

 

That means, you may not see too much action from this end, until after Christmas.  I am sure you understand.  But not to worry, you can still sign up for anything, send us notes and emails and we will still keep in touch. 

 

So yes!  Somewhere in the next two months, There will be a little work.  We will keep the web site in full operation and Taunya will be available to help with any bookings or changes to bookings. 

 

So if you signed up to be a volunteer or chairperson, please know that we have your information.  We will be doing a small amount of work in the next two months and then really hit it hard during the first quarter of next year.

 

Additionally, this week we also want to remind anyone wanting to present a workshop they can visit the web site for information to offer suggestions and to sign up to be  a presenter.

 

And this week we are also giving you some additional information on possibly the most spectacular part of the convention, "The Parade of Red Suits."

 

Santacerely,

 

Santa Tim Connaghan

General Chairman

DiscoverSanta2016

[email protected]
WORKSHOP PRESENTER SIGN-UPS

Santas in Class At DS2016 we are planning on hosting between 40 and 60 Workshops at the convention. It is our goal to have qualified presenters in each Workshop.  To that end, we are looking for qualified individuals, couples and teams that can teach or present a subject.

The presenters will not only be other Santas and Mrs. Claus, but we plan on bringing in some professionals from outside the Santa community who will present on specialized subjects that relate to our industry, our work and who we serve.

If you are interested in becoming a presenter, please visit the DS2016 Website and the Workshop Page.  We want programs that have information and value to the Santas and Mrs Claus that attend.  We are pleased that Santa Bob Elkin will be chairing the Workshop Committee.

Please know that we are looking for qualified presenters and not for moderators or hosts to handle group or panel discussions.   We will have sessions like that, but the committee will assign the moderators for those sessions.

We will be looking at the presenters, length of experience, and knowledge on the subject they wish to present.  To have variety, and because there is such a large number of possible presenters,  most will only present one workshop.  

Once we have the final list of presenters, sometime in March or April, of 2016, we will send out a survey to all registered convention attendees to see what workshop subjects they are most interested in attending,  The results of the survey will aid the Workshop Chairman and Committee in deciding what workshops are most important to the attendees, and also in assigning meeting rooms and locations.

Offering to present a workshop does not mean that you are confirmed for a workshop.   An Official confirmation will be sent to all presenters and will include the level of compensation they will be paid for presenting their workshop.  For details on Compensations, please go to  the web site.
CURRENT CHAIRPERSONS - OUR STEERING COMMITTEE

The key leadership for the convention comes from the Steering Committee, which consists of the Chairpersons of the many Committees.  You can always find an updated list with email addresses on the main web site at www.DiscoverSanta2016.com/Committees  

THE PARADE OF RED SUITS

Discover Santa Parade Photo
The 2016 "Parade of Red Suits" will take place at Branson Landing, on the scenic boardwalk along the 1.5-mile Taneycomo Lakefront, next to Historic Downtown Branson.

Over 1,000 Santas, Mrs. Claus, Celebrities and Holiday Professionals will be joined by Floats, Bands, and lots of surprises.  

And we are pleased to have Mr. Bill Lomas, famous producer of the Hollywood Christmas Parade, joining us to help coordinate, direct and produce our parade.  His over 50 years of producing parade and festivals (48 years for Hollywood) will definitely help to make our parade special. 

As the Santas parade through Branson Landing, Stars of the many Branson Shows will on the main stage, adding to the celebration by singing our favorite Christmas Songs.   And of course, everyone is welcome to sing along!

Are you are wondering  why the parade is so early in the day?  Well, everyone will be wearing our wonderful winter wardrobe, and it is July. so the average daily temperature in Branson is around 88 degrees.  Mornings are much cooler.  Also, it  is our hope that this special parade will air live on one of the major network morning shows.

At the conclusion of the parade, approximately 9:30 a.m. a group photo of the Santas and Mrs. Claus will be taken in the Town Square with the Branson Landing Fountains as a backdrop.

Branson Landing Fountains
At the heart of the Landing is a vibrant town square terracing down to the $7.5 million spectacular water attraction that features the first-ever merging of water, fire, light and music, a dazzling interplay of water Fountains shooting 120-foot geysers and fire cannons blasting, all choreographed to light and music.
The water and fire spectacle is a creation of internationally renowned Wet Design, the producers of world-class shows for Downtown Disney marketplace in Orlando, Universal City Walk in California and the Bellagio in Las Vegas.

Parade Origins
The origin of Christmas Parades and pageants goes back a few centuries.   At Harvest Fest or Winter Festivals, St. Nicholas might arrive to walk among those attending. 
In Italy, Denmark and other European Countries, St. Nicholas might arrive by boat or upon a beautiful white horse and parade through the city.

First Santa Convention (photo courtesy of Santa Phil Wenz)
In 1939 the Benevolent Order of Santa Claus held the world's first Santa Claus Convention at the Hotel St. George in New York City. Fourteen Santa  Claus attended.

It was organized by famed Santa Charles W. Howard.

In the 1930's, 40's and 50's members of the  Benevolent Order continued to have annual conventions

In more modern times, since 1957,  the historical Amusement park at Dreysbakken (Bakken), in Copenhagen, has annually held a July festival with Santas, Mrs. Claus and Holiday revellers.   Created by Professor Tribini, the ringmaster and host at Bakken, his idea was to invite all the Santas from around the world to vacation at Bakken in July.  At the first congress, it was mostly local Santas wearing the Suits of from different countries.

World Congress Parade in Bakken - 2006
Today the event in Bakken has grown. Each year 50 to 150 Santas and Mrs. Claus travel from countries around the world, to gather  in Bakken at the "World Congress of Santas."  

For three days they tour parts of Copenhagen each morning, then return to Bakken where they march in a small parade and then meet with all of the guests at the Amusement Park.

Discover Santa 2006
Over 500 Santas and Mrs. Claus participated in the original Discover Santa Parade in 2006 - Photo courtesy of Santa Richard Christie
The first Discover Santa convention began with a "Parade of Red Suits."

As the musical notes and singing of Jingle Bells began, under the direction of Santa Reese Williams, Over 300 Santas began coming out of doorways at the Grand Village Shoppes.  First one Santa Parade Chairman Santa Al Hodak,  then ten, then twenty and eventually all three hundred marching.  Escorting the Santas were dancers in Holiday Dress from from one of the Branson Holiday Shows.  And joining them along the sides of the parade route were another 200 Mrs. Claus and Family.  

They finished the parade by gathering in the Plaza outside of Kringles, the Christmas Store, where the Santas and Mrs. Claus  posed for a special group photo.

We are happy to say that Sparkhill Productions filmed the entire parade and have given us a small video which is posted on Youtube.  Click on this link to view, the 2006 Discover Santa Parade. 
DS2016 REGISTRATION 

Registration and Sign-Ups for Discover Santa 2016 is an ongoing task being head up by Taunya Lay at Branson Ticket and Travel (BT&T). She coordinated our 2006 convention and with the team of experts at BT&T she is again doing a fantastic job. 

We have packages to fit every Santa and Mrs. Claus' pocket book. Click here to view the Registration Page.

We set up the convention registration knowing full-well that most of the convention attendees would be Seniors and those on controlled or limited income flow.  We do need an initial deposit, but after that you can pay something monthly.  The balance needs to be paid on or around March 1, 2016.  Taunya can give you all the details.   

By the way, deposits for those not needing a hotel room are much less.

You can view all of the packages on our web site and submit your registration at any time.

Once your registration form is received, Taunya will contact you.  Usually within 48 hours. She will review your registration and work with you in paying for your registration.  If you need, she can work with you in splitting up the payments.   

Or Call Taunya at Branson Ticket & Travel 800-432-4202
NEXT WEEK
Creating an new Santa event - The SNO-lympics!

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